NBC has spiced up their Thursday night line-up by introducing “Whitney” and her colorful cast of friends, one of whom might look particularly familiar.

Best known for his roles as Jonathan on “30 Rock” and Sanjay on “Weeds”, Maulik Pancholy plays the straight-shooting Neal on the new hit series.

Describing his character as “smart, successful and totally in love”, Pancholy offered some insight into what “Whitney” is all about.

“It’s about the trials and tribulations of being in a relationship. You hear Whitney talking about being from a divorced family. It’s extremely smart and it’s a little bit about everything,” Pancholy said.

But Pancholy said “Whitney” isn’t the typical cookie-cutter comedy about a group of friends.

“There are shows about people and relationships but I don’t think they have this frankness. They cast six kooky, zany people to watch but I think it’s relatable, you can find someone to identify with,” he said.

Beyond his intelligence, Pancholy’s character is often the voice of reason within the crazy cast.

“He can foresee problems before they blow up,” Pancholy explained. “He has the answers in his pocket.

Whether he’s offering relationship advice by comparing Whitney’s relationship to his own with Lily (Zoe Lister Jones) or keeping on the straight and narrow, Neal deviates from Pancholy’s other known roles.

“The characters people know me best as are roles where I’m not as in control. Jonathan is always telling Liz (Tina Fey) what to do but with Neal there’s a confidence and knowledge,” Pancholy said.

As for the leading lady and title character, Whitney Cummings, Pancholy said he’s having a blast working with her.

“Whitney is so funny. Her sense of comedy comes from the truth,” he said.
But how does Pancholy juggle working on “Whitney”, filmed in LA, and “30 Rock” in New York?

“I’ve been so lucky. Everything kind of dove tailed on top of each other,” Pancholy said.
Filming “Whitney” while “30 Rock” is on hiatus, Pancholy said he expects to be able to coordinate working between the two coasts.

Whether he’s in LA or jumping from east to west, New York is his home.

Over the summer Pancholy said he worked on renovating his apartment and spent time visiting Broadway.

“I saw a ton of theater. I saw ‘The Book of Mormon’ twice,” he admitted.

“I read a lot. I’m kind of a nerd,” he added.

But being in the warm California sun might allow Pancholy to explore a side of himself many don’t know about.

One of his experiences with adventure sports was skydiving 450 feet above ground in New Zealand.

Pancholy admits that he’s not sure what’s ahead for Jonathan and the equally colorful cast on “30 Rock” but there is one storyline he would like to explore.

“I’d love if Jonathan got to be Jack (Alec Baldwin) for a day. It would start swimmingly then head south. Jack would have to save the day,” Pancholy said.

Jonathan’s schtick on “30 Rock” was once that he was never given a speaking line but as time etched on, his relationships with Jack and Liz have developed.

“It grew over time. The schtick was that Jonathan communicated with Jack with post-it notes. The relationship has grown. His obsessiveness has become increasingly weird and he has become increasingly disdainful of Liz,” Pancholy said.

As for his dream guest stars for “30 Rock”, Pancholy names two comedy greats with series on rivaling networks.

“Jane Lynch and Neil Patrick Harris,” he admitted. “There are so many comedy greats who would be great on the show. It’s awesome to show up and meet crazy people.”

But which series does Pancholy admits to having an obsession with?

“I would love to be on ‘True Blood.’ I’m a total Truebie,” he said.

Whether on “30 Rock”, “Whitney” or even “True Blood”, Pancholy said he hopes to explore a new genre in the future.

“I love the comedy world but it would be awesome to do a big action movie. I think that would be unexpected,” he said.